In a digital television system, the number of services available is becoming quite considerable. Several hundred services may be made available to the user. Navigation through the complete list of services is thus becoming tiresome, and this is why the user is afforded the possibility of creating one or more preferred lists, forming the same number of subsets of the initial list. The user can then organize these lists as he wishes and navigate around one of them to select a service to be viewed. However, during navigation around a given preferred list, access to a particular service that does not figure in the preferred list requires a certain number of manipulations for changing list and ultimately for choosing the desired service.
The THOMSON EP 822 713 Patent Application describes an EPG that screens lists of events and lists of functions. A function consists in formulating a preferred list allows a user to move from one list to another. A graphical element makes it possible to create a visual association between an element of a service list and a function list.
The HARMS U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,362 teaches a means of creating a preferred list. A screen window makes it possible to display chronologically the various events broadcast by the services of the list.
The TV GUIDE ON SCREEN—WO 95 32583 patent application describes a system for receiving audiovisual data. The list of all the services or those having a common characteristic (topic, for example) is displayed with the aid of a menu.
The YUEN—U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,794 describes a sophisticated EPG that shows windows presenting: a list of services/events that may be selected, information about the selected service/event, a video image (PIP) of the selected service/event, a function list (see FIG. 16, 17, . . . 35). The user can create a list of services/programs according to certain criteria.
Patent Application CROY—WO 01/35664 teaches an EPG that screens lists of events and lists of functions. By virtue of the direction keys, it is possible to go from one list to another. For example, the EPG displays on the left of the screen lists of elements (Topic, Time, Station, Keyword, etc.) and on the right: (Movies, Sports, Entertainment, Music, etc.), the user can select an element of the first list and then an element of the second list.
Patent application THOMSON—WO 00/72581 teaches a Program Guide receiving service information a broadcasting network and wire communication network (INTERNET type). The Guide presents a chronological schedule of the programs in the form of a list of services (vertically), each service being associated with a chronological line of events broadcast on this service.
Despite the ease of use, these documents do not teach a user how to navigate easily from a first list to a second so-called preferred list, whose elements are contained in the first, by easily exhibiting the interactions between these two lists.